Thursday, June 23, 2011

EUROPE: RUSSIA - 1ST CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION SINCE 1918

CNA REPORT: The mayor of St. Petersburg, Russia has granted permission for the first Corpus Christi procession to take place in the city since 1918.

The announcement was confirmed by the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, reported Vatican Radio. The procession will take place on Sunday, June 26, through the Prospettiva Nevsky Avenue, the city’s main street.

The avenue has traditionally been called the “way of confessional tolerance,” as it is lined with Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Armenian churches. According to archdiocesan officials, the last time a Corpus Christ procession took place on the avenue was in 1918.

Now, 93 years later, Catholics will return to the Prospettiva Nevsky Avenue led by Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of Moscow.